


SU2 mini series

by CoffeeCakes26



Category: Special Unit 2
Genre: Centar, F/M, Giants, Gnomes, Links, Mpreg, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-12-22 04:06:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11959365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeCakes26/pseuds/CoffeeCakes26
Summary: Join along with our favorite SU2 team as they continue to track down and deal with troublesome Links, while Carl finds himself dealing with his own unexpected situation.





	1. Revealing

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank PearlQ19 from FF.net who helped me with ideas and beta reading it! 
> 
> I in no way, shape or form own the rights to Special Unit 2 or any of the characters but my own. This is purely for entertainment for the fans and to better my skills as a writer!

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid," Carl muttered low to himself as he paced back and forth in front of his yellow desk in the SU2 station office. "You knew this was going to happen eventually. Why'd it have to be now?!" Carl mumbled to himself as he paused in his pacing, silently raging at the information he'd learned not 20 minutes ago and fighting to keep down what was left in his stomach from the nausea. Thankfully, it was leaving. He'd been feeling off the last week, it only really becoming an annoyance and more obvious the last few days. And gnomes didn't get sick. The test confirmed it.

Carl watched as the humans went about their day in the station, working. For the most part things were quiet around the station.

"What's stupid? Other than almost every decision you've ever made?"

O'Malley. Carl didn't hide the look of annoyed displeasure from his face as he glanced up at the human.

"I forgot to laugh," Carl said dryly. "And the answer is, none of your business," he said just as unamused.

"CARL!"

The gnome couldn't help but jump slightly as the Captain bellowed his name from his office.

"Gotta go," Carl quickly said as he tried to make a quick exit but was stopped by the taller human.

"Not so fast," Nick said with a smirk as he grabbed the gnome by the back of his shirt, eager to see him squirm.

"Hey! Hey!" Carl struggled a bit to keep up with and try to get out of O'Malley's grasp. "Help a guy out here, will ya!"

"Only you're not a guy," Nick countered wise-assly as he dragged Carl into Page's office and roughly pushed him down in a chair.

"The fact O'Malley had to drag you here tells me you know exactly what happened last night," Page said with a growl.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Carl said, all innocent. In fact not really knowing what this was about.

"Can it Carl!" Page snapped unamused as he leaned forward on his desk. "Up until last night we had a flawless month. We have surveillance video of a group of gnomes stealing from the south side National Bank at 3:15 this morning." Page's tone had increased in agitation as he spoke.

"What?! I was supposed to be in on that! Tonight!" Carl shouted in anger before he could stop himself.

"Damn it, Carl!" Page shouted. "You will have them return the money they stole." His tone more level. "All of it, or you will find yourself in the hole."

"I'll do one better. I'll tell you were they are, so you can arrest them and stick their asses in the hole," Carl said very seriously and wanting to get back at them.

That caught both the humans off guard.

"You would do that?" Page, though shocked, hid it well, only part of it showing with a raised eyebrow, but honestly wouldn't put it past Carl.

"At the moment, yes."

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

"Did you really have to be so excessive with the handcuffs?" Kate said, trying unsuccessfully to hide the smirk that was steadily building on her face.

"Yes," Nick said with his own smirk.

"You know the report said there was only three, right?"

"I'd like to think I'm prepared."

"I'm sure you do," Kate said with an amused smile.

"This better not be a trick," O'Malley said as he glanced at Carl’s reflection in the rear-view mirror of the SUV. Nick had to do an actual double take with his eyes as he confirmed that the gnome was indeed sound asleep in the back seat.

"Would you be mad if I did a break check?" Nick said with a shit-eating grin.

"Just keep driving," Kate said. She'd also seen that Carl had fallen asleep.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

It didn't take that much longer to reach the secluded section of the woods where the gnomes were located.

Getting out of the SUV on the gravel road, they made their way over to the large open section of thick-trunked trees.

"Jimmy? Will?" Carl began to call as he walked up to a hole. "Bennie?!" he shouted into the hole, with some annoyance, bending forward with his hands on his knees so the sound would travel farther.

After a few seconds of silence, Carl stood straight, walking back toward the SUV.

"Well, they’re not here."

"Not so fast," Nick said, now getting annoyed himself, looking down at Carl.

"I'm telling you they’re not here."

"And I know they are," Nick said sternly. "We keep looking," he paused to look around the area with his eyes, "until we find them."

"Fine," Carl huffed, walking off toward a spot he knew there was another hole entrance.

"Jimmy?" Carl called out and waited a moment. "Will?" he called out again, finding it off, and, if he admitted it, worrysome that even after this time they still wouldn't answer. "Ben!" he shouted again, this time with a little more urgency to his tone.

He paused for a moment in thought, only to then be given a heart attack as a scream came from somewhere near him. Ben! he thought, but it was followed by a screeching yowl. Carl was too scared out of his mind to call out, to move, almost frozen in place.

That changed as Ben came running around a wooded part right at him, with Will behind him. And behind him was a Leith. A centipede humanoid Link that loved to eat gnomes. 

That got Carl moving with his own bloodcurdling scream. Back towards the SUV and Benson and O'Malley. But he missed seeing the uplifted root and tripped over it. He screamed out again in terror as he faced the Link that towered over him now. 7 feet high, scales running along its multi-limbed sides that ended to be pure centipede and back that ran from cream to red, to black. Black eyes dead as night that held nothing but a evil sinister look. Large pinchers came from within his wide mouth, dripping with a deadly saliva. Carl saw a sickening, knowing smirk come to its face as it looked upon him, a chuckling hiss came from its mouth as he reached its long, thin-clawed fingers toward him. "Oh, no," Carl whimpered low, before letting out loud screams of pure terror.

His screams weren't missed as the two humans came running toward him, fast.

"Get down!" Nick shouted to the two standing gnomes, watching as they, as he raised his gun at the insect Link, dropped down, and fired at the Link.

It shrieked in pain, flinching as each bullet hit it, stunning it, but nothing more. In the few seconds it took for Kate and Nick to reload, it retreated back into the woods.

"It's okay," Kate said looking to the two gnomes at her feet, "it's gone." Then making her way over to Carl.

Still scared, Carl looked to her with wide eyes as Kate kneeled down next to him, then back in the direction the gnome-eating link had gone.

"And so are we," Ben said, already on his feet again.

That snapped Carl out of his little daze, getting to his own feet and walking over to his fellow gnome.

Like Carl, Ben and Will where short, Ben being the shortest at 3.6. Will was the tallest at 4.3, quite stocky, had reddish loose curly hair, a longer beard, looking like a tiny redhead with blue eyes and a handsome face, while Ben looked slightly more Asian, with short, spiky black hair, darker skin, a goatee to match his short beard, brown eyes and a noticeable thinner build. Both still in their black clothing from the heist the night before.

"Where's Jimmy?" Carl asked, finding his voice as he stood in front of the two. "Ben!Where's Jimmy?!" he said with more panicked urgency, taking hold of Ben's arm and shaking him.

"He's gone, Carl! It got him," Ben said after a few seconds, feeling bad as Carl’s emotions went from shock to disbelief and anger, then sadness.

"No," Carl said meekly.

"And so will we if we don't leave," Will said in a smooth deep voice. "Those weapons only stunned him," he said, looking to the humans.

"We're not leaving until we have what we came for," Nick said sternly, looking at all the gnomes. "Where's the money you stole last night?"

"Gone. It was with Jimmy when the Leith attacked," Ben said, sounding pissed.

"What? All of it?!" Carl shouted. "And don't think I'm not pissed about you pulling it without me."

"Well you're getting it back. Now," Nick said, annoyed himself now.

"No!" all three gnomes said at once.

Nick’s patience was gone. Pulling out his weapon, he aimed it at Ben and Will. "You will. Or I'll find the nearest cliff and drop you both over it," he said with a hiss. "What?" Nick growled at the starring, pondering look Will gave him.

"I'm debating if the fall will kill me or I can use it to get away."

Ben openly chuckled while Carl spoke up.

"Don't piss off O'Malley. He'll do it."

"Alright. Enough," Kate said, getting a little frustrated herself as she kept a lookout for the Leith. "Now we'll go and get the money, then head back to the station."

"And like we already said," Ben said looking at Kate, "we can't."

"Why not?"

"Because that Leith isn't the only one around. The first one dragged him off who knows where."

As a reminder that the insect links were still around, two loud screeching yowls could be heard in the distance.

"I think we should leave," Kate said, getting nervous herself as she took a step back, careful of the three gnomes that where behind her now.

"I think you might be right."

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

"You're putting us where?!" Ben shouted from the left back seat, staring right at the back of Nick's head.

"Serves you right! If you'd stuck with the original plan, Jimmy’d still be alive and we'd have that money," Carl said, jabbing a finger in Ben's chest, sitting in his normal middle spot.

"We didn't involve you because of this very reason," Ben bit back, looking to the humans, then back to Carl. "Because of your involvement with them," he said with disdain in his voice. "Why you work with them I still don't understand."

"Hey! Those are my frie—" Carl caught himself mid-word, glancing to Kate and Nick quickly, then back to Ben, "colleagues you're talking about," Carl said as if the slip-up never happened. "And I'd watch your tone around them, or you'll see some really scary shit."

"You're pathetic," Ben sneered.

"Shut up," Nick said sternly, glancing back quickly at the dark-skinned gnome, on account of driving. Peace and quiet once more reigned over the SUV. Nick couldn't help but glance occasionally to Carl in the rear-view mirror as he drove.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Carl was quiet as he filled out what little paperwork he had at his desk.

Captain Page chewed out Ben and Will, making them shrink in their seats, as Carl knew would happen, before being sent to the hole below.

If Carl was honest with himself, the paperwork was the last thing on his mind. He couldn't get the sickening knowing smirk out of his head the Leith had given him. And the only thing that kept repeating in Carl's mind was: he knows. Which was not good. Leith would eat anything or anyone, but gnomes where their favorites, and now what with him being... Carl couldn't get the feeling out of him that he was its newest target.

Needless to say, Carl wasn't leaving the station anytime soon. Alone.

And to make matters worse, the nausea was making its presence known again, fiercely. Damn it. Putting a fisted hand to his forehead while taking slow breaths, Carl made his way to the bathroom.

"Is it just me or does Carl seem not himself?" Kate asked. She'd seen how Carl was acting the last few days. More tired, irritable, slow, barely eating, almost sick. Did gnomes even get sick? And then what almost happened today, he'd been clumsy, which wasn't him.

"Just you," Nick said monotonously, putting a file away in his desk.

"Oh, come on, Nick. You saw that thing. If we'd been a few seconds lat—"

"We weren't," Nick said, cutting her off, trying to reassure her, but he knew he was failing by the look of uncertainty on Kate's face. He also couldn't stop thinking of what Carl had said but tried to cover up in the car on the way back.

At the moment they were waiting for Jonathan to get back to them from his research on what kind of ammo to use, should they come across the Leith again.

"I'm going to wash up, then I'm heading home," Kate said, standing and putting on her leather jacket.

Nick only nodded his head, still thinking about what happened earlier.

Heading to the bathroom, Kate had to stop suddenly when Carl emerged from the men’s side, looking a little pale, sickly. A tissue held in one of his hands, he looked up to her, shocked, even worried.

"You okay, Carl?" she asked, worried a little for the gnome.

"I'm fine," Carl snapped, maybe a little too harshly, as he walked away.

Kate was still shocked, speechless as she stood there, looking from the bathroom door to the direction Carl had gone.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

It was late. 12:15am. But Carl couldn't sleep. As it was, he was one of the few still in the station on the night shift. But he wasn't working. Sitting at his desk, a untouched cup of herbal tea in front of him, Carl was busy trying to will down the nausea once more, rubbing at his forehead and eyes closed, taking in slow but steady breaths.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

At her own place, Kate also couldn't sleep. She kept thinking of how Carl had looked when coming out from the bathroom. Pale, and covered in a very thin sheen of sweat. If Carl was sick, they needed to know about it. Sooner the better. Giving up on getting any sort of sleep, Kate got up, dressed, and headed for the station. Before leaving, she phoned Marty. It was time to get down to what was going on with Carl.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Back at the station, so exhausted, Carl had finally fallen asleep at his desk, using his arm as a pillow.

Unfortunately, because he was asleep, he wasn't aware of the Leith that was silently slithering up to him from his front. The two Agents that were at the station were in the break room getting coffee.

Lifting itself up for the striking blow, the Leith had a sickening sweet hungry smirk on its face. As it lashed out for the killing blow, Carl, in his sleep, had shifted enough to make the rolling chair he was in move backwards and lose his balance, falling flat on his front, the Leith above him missing him by inches. It screeched in irritation.

Instantly awake, Carl let out his own bloodcurdling scream as he quickly dove under his desk, using it as a means of cover as he tried to escape, running between the other desks.

Now pissed, the Leith screeched out as it shoved aside the desk chasing after the gnome who hid in a stone crawl space, screaming in terror. Now that it had the gnome trapped in the crawl space, the Leith reached in a clawed hand trying to get at the gnome, and barely reaching it, first gouging deep groves in the concrete. Then another shriek from the gnome as it easily ripped at the cloth covering his left leg. The gnome screamed in pain as the claws made contact with his skin, making three deep slashes in said upper leg.

The two agents came out immediately, weapons pointed at the Link, shooting at its armor-like scales. Annoyed with the interruption of getting its next meal, the Leith faced the two agents. A mistake on its part. Its underside, not as protected, was pierced by several of the special bullets before it fled, only to stop dead a few feet away.

Still terrified, Carl stayed inside the crawl space, keeping as close to the back wall as he could, frozen in place despite his painful bleeding leg.

As one of the agents tried to coax Carl out, unsuccessfully, the other put out a call for all higher-up agents to come into the station on an emergency.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Pulling up to the curb of the entrance, Kate paused as she received the emergency call, listening in disbelief at what happened. Ending the call, Kate rushed inside the station as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Where is he?" Kate said aloud after she eyed the damage done to the desks.

"He's over here," one of the agents called, standing beside the opening.

Kate rushed over, pausing only for a second to look at the deep gouges made by the Leith's claws, then kneeling down to look inside the crawl space.

"Carl?" Kate asked gently, soothingly. But he didn't respond, staying motionless. "Carl, it's okay." Kate's tone stayed gentle, soothing, encouraging. It was then she saw the deep gashes on his upper leg. "Oh my God," she said low, putting a hand to her mouth.

"Carl?" Kate said with a little more urgency, making sure to keep her voice soft, encouraging. "It's okay. It's safe, it won't hurt you again."

Slowly Carl's eyes connected with Benson's as he started to come around. "How do you know?" he asked timidly.

"Because we got it, Carl. It's dead," Kate said, her voice still soothing, trying to calm the gnome’s fears.

"Okay," Carl said in a low voice, still afraid but showing his trust in the human as he made his way out of the crawl space.

"That's it," Kate said with a soft smile. "Come on," she encouraged.

By this time, several other members of SU2 were showing up, including O'Malley, who made his way over to the dead insect Link, checking to make sure it was dead, and Marty, just as Carl made it outside of the crawl space and stood—well, tried to, but was having a hard time because of said wound, which was bleeding profusely. Carl used the wall to help him stand, but he froze as he eyed the lifeless body of the Leith.

"It's okay, Carl," Marty said as she gently took hold of Carl's shoulder. "Now, let's get you to sick bay," she said seeing the deep bleeding wound and helping the gnome to sick bay.

Nick was shocked speechless at seeing the wound on Carl's leg, watching Marty help him, then looked at the damage done to the station.

"What I want to know is how did it make it this far in?" He looked right at Kate, who was just as equally stumped and curious.

"What's the situation?!" came Page's voice as he made his way in.

"It got away," Nick said, facing Page.

"Carl?"

"Wounded, in shock, but alive," Kate said.

"How the hell did it make it in?"

It was then that another SU2 member walked up to them. "You all need to see this," he said, guiding them to a secluded section of the station where the wall and floor had been dug up.

"It dug its way in," Nick said, kneeling down to look over the area better.

"But why would it go for Carl, a single gnome, when Ben and Will are in the hole and it could easily get to them?" Kate asked.

"That's the 1000-dollar question." Nick stood back up looking to Kate and Page.

"You will find out the answer. Your report said there were two of these things. If this one went this far, the other one might do the same," Page said, not liking that thought at all.

"Yes, Sir," Nick said.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"I said I'm fine. I don't need any tests run." Carl said firmly, more back to his normal self again. He winced a little as he shifted trying to get more comfortable on the table, his leg wrapped tightly to try and get the bleeding to stop.

"And I'd like to make sure of it. This is the first time we've been given the opportunity to do blood work on you, and I'm not passing it."

"No!" Carl said firmly, but there was no anger.

"I see you’re back to yourself again," Nick said walking in, Kate right behind him.

Carl paused from watching Marty gather many swabs for the blood tests, looking to O'Malley.

"How is he?" Kate asked, walking up to Carl, gently touching the wrapping with the tip of her finger. Carl didn't say anything as he looked from his leg up to Kate.

"We're still trying to stop the bleeding. Once we do, we'll try to use butterfly stitches, since we can't use regular needles." Marty put the last label on a phial before walking back over to Carl. "Carl's lucky that that thing was killed. If it'd gotten a hold of him..." Marty knew she didn't have to finish that sentence for them to understand. "But until then, he's not going anywhere. The wounds are deep, and I want him to keep his weight off the leg while it heals so it doesn't reopen. Don't want to run the risk of him losing to much blood. So we're having special crutches made."

"Which begs the question, why'd it come after you?" Nick said, with a curious frown.

"Dumb luck I suppose," Carl said, trying to make light of what happened and blow it off as nothing else.

"No," Nick said, seeing right through the gnome's lies. "That thing could easily cut through dirt and concrete like it was nothing. It could have gotten to the other two, no problem. So why didn't it?"

"I'm telling you I have no idea. You're reading too much into it," Carl said as he slowly lowered himself down. But as he did, a long, white thin object fell from his pants pocket.

It wasn't missed by the two agents as Nick bent down to pick it up.

"No. Give it back," Carl said in a panic, trying to grab the object from the human’s hand.

Nick easily pushed the gnome off, taking a step back as he stood looking at the object. "What is this?" he asked, really not knowing what it was.

Kate, however, quickly took it from Nick's confused hold, eyes wide in complete shock, knowing exactly what it was, but not believing it as she took a few steps more into the light to get a better look at the reading.

"I said give it back!" Carl almost shouted, being very serious. "That's none of your business."

It was in fact exactly what Kate thought it was. And it read positive.

"This isn't yours," she said, still unbelieving, with an unsure smirk as she looked right at Carl, who wouldn't make full eye contact with her, looking embarrassed and worried.

"This IS yours," Kate said in shocked awe, it now making sense why Carl had looked so sickly earlier. He wasn't sick as in a cold, he'd been sick because he was pregnant, morning sickness. "Is this why the Leith came specifically after you?" Kate asked sternly, walking right up to Carl.

Marty came walking up to Kate and took the test from her hold, also looking it over in shock.

"Could someone please tell me what's going on?" Nick looked to them, still confused.

"Yes!" Carl said with a heavy sigh, looking right at Kate as he took the test from Marty's hold. "This is why it came after me," he said a bit more grudgingly.

"What is this thing?" Nick said, taking the test once more from Carl's hand, who in turn quickly took it back.

"It's a pregnancy test," Marty said with a small smile.

"I'm sorry. I thought you said 'pregnancy test'. Cause there's no way Carl can be pregnant," Nick said, first in careless humor, then his look turned a bit more serious as he realized Kate and Marty were serious.

"That's not possible!" Nick said in shock, now himself looking down to Carl, all jokes and humor gone.

"I'll run a blood test to confirm it," Marty said, beginning to slowly remove the wrap from Carl's leg to check on the wound and get the blood swabs she needed.

"There's no need," Carl said, shaking his head and closing his eyes as he let out a sigh. "I am pregnant." He reopened his eyes to look at the humans. "And before you ask, no. There's not another involved. It just happens when gnomes reach a certain age," Carl explained.

"How? When there are female gnomes?" Kate asked now.

"Not as many as what you might think."

"The hell you talking about?" Nick asked with a shake of his head. "Just this year you went out with three."

Carl remained quiet.

"Didn't you?" Nick asked, then his eyebrows rose in realization.

"I only said they were females so you didn't think me anymore a freak then you already do," Carl said sternly.

"Okay, what about the other Leith? Think it'll come after you?" Kate said, changing the subject. She saw how uncomfortable it was making Carl.

"I doubt it." Carl winced as Marty removed the soiled wraps, checking over the open slashes on his leg. Carl still had on his original pants, a section of it being cut out so it wouldn't touch the wounds. The bleeding had slowed down, but he couldn't see the wound because Marty blocked the small section with the wrap. Rolling his eyes, Carl ignored her as she got to work on collecting the swabs.

"Why's that?" Kate also winced at how deep the slashes went.

"Because it'd have been here with its friend. Fact it wasn't states it doesn't know," Carl explained. "Which is fine by me."

"Well, that's good to know," Kate said with a relieved nod.

"So how far along are you?" This time it was Marty as she put a swab into a phial, closed it, and got to work on another. She'd removed the whole wrap allowing the air to get to it.

"Three weeks," Carl said, glancing at the wound for just a second, having to look away on account it was making him feel nauseous again. "Oh my God," he said a bit wheezy.

"Just take it easy," Kate said, putting a hand on his other upper arm to steady him.

"Almost done," Marty assured. "And how long will …"

"Five months," Carl answered quickly as he took in deep breaths and messed with his goatee.

"I still find it hard to believe," Nick said, turning and taking a few steps away.

"Well let me get this wrapped up and we'll do a fetal Doppler check," Marty said, sealing up the last phial, and after cutting off the rest of the ruined cloth turning it into half shorts, half pants, Marty wrapped the wound up to keep out infection.

Carl opened his eyes to look down at his wrapped up leg, letting out a relieved sigh. "Think I can get another pair of pants?" he said snarkily.

"Yeah, hold on," Marty said as she was putting her stuff away. Getting out the fetal Doppler, some gel, she also took out a spare pair of blue patient pants from a cubicle, setting them on the table behind Carl.

"Okay, lay back down, Carl," Marty instructed.

Carl was debating as he gave a deciding frown from Marty to Nick. This was very personal for the gnome. 

"He's stalling. Which means he's lying," Nick said, having known this was all a trick.

That made the gnome mad.

"Okay, fine. You want proof. You got it," Carl said as he lay down. "What do I do?" he asked up at Marty.

"Nothing. Just try to relax. I'm going to lift up the lower part of your shirt," Marty said, waiting to get the silent permission from the gnome before proceeding, which she did in the form of a nod. "Okay," Marty said slowly, grateful that Carl's pants where low-cut, as she applied the gel onto a lower section of his hairless stomach.

"Oh! That's cold! You keep that in the freezer?" Carl said, trying to keep still as Marty, with a chuckle, placed the Doppler wand over the glob of gel and began her search.

While skeptical, Nick was also curious. Slowly he walked over to stand beside Kate.

"Hmm," Marty said after a few seconds of finding nothing, but as she pressed a bit firmer, the distinguished sound of a fetal heartbeat could be heard from the speakers of the Doppler. "Ah, there it is!"

Carl watched as different emotions played across Nick's face. First doubt, then smugness at being right, which then quickly turned to undeniable shock as he looked at Carl's face.

"Told you." Carl smirked back.

"Alright. Fine. I believe it. Are we done here?" Nick said with a frown.

"Yeah," Kate said, a little disappointed with Nick's attitude, but then that was the norm with him.

"So how long am I going to be stuck here?" Carl asked Marty, using the towel she handed him to wipe off the gel.

"To be safe, I'd say three weeks," Marty said with an apologetic look.

"Great," Carl said with thick sarcasm. "Three weeks of hell." He paused a moment in thinking. "Hey, can I bunk with you?"

"Oooh, sorry. One-room apartment. And I think my dog would try to kill you," Marty said, trying to act apologetic but failing.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Kate said with a shake of her head, "but you can stay with me."

"Really?" It came from all three of them in various forms of emotion. Carl was only too happy, though surprised. Nick sounded upset, and Marty was shocked.

"Yes, really," Kate said seriously, giving Nick a firm look. "Just know this, Carl, pregnant or not, I find my stuff gone, I'll reopen that wound and pour salt in it," she said with a serious dark smirk. It gave Carl the chills.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

The day been long and hard, busy helping to fix up the damage the Leith had done and fill back up the hole.

Kate was just relieved to finally be back home. Opening the door to her apartment, she waited as Carl slowly made his way in, using his new crutches, then closed the door. In that short time, Carl had fallen fast asleep on her couch.

Kate couldn't help but smile as she covered him with a blanket from behind, and as he was sleeping she curbed her curiosity by touching one of his ears before heading into the kitchen.


	2. True Allies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when some Giants start causing some trouble. Tune in and find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again special thanks to PearlQ19 for helping me with this chapter! Couldn't have done it without her! 
> 
> Reviews good and bad ARE welcome! They are like cookies to me!

"Carl?!" Kate shouted again against the bathroom door. "Hurry up or we're going to be late!"  
Still no answer. Kate was about to hit at the door again with her open palm when it suddenly opened. Steam came from the room as Carl looked up to her with some annoyance. Hair wet from only being towel-dried, it was obvious he'd gotten a shower.  
"We going or not?" Carl said with his own smirk, now heading for the front door as she stared speechless at him in the hallway.  
It'd been a month since Carl moved in, and, thankfully, Kate was still allowing him to stay, even though he was almost fully recovered and could walk on his own again.  
"Did you take a shower? Again?" Kate more stated than asked, coming out of her stunned stupor. She met Carl at the front door, and they made their way to the SU2 station together. "That's the third one this week. You've never bathed this much in the whole two years I've known you," she said once they were in the car.  
"I can't help it right now," Carl mumbled really low.  
"What?" Kate hadn't heard a thing he said.  
"I can't help it right now," Carl mumbled again though not as low, but still low enough it was hard to hear.  
"Still can't hear you," Kate stated sternly.  
"I can't help it right now," Carl finally said aloud, now a bit agitated, sitting back in the seat and looking out the window.  
Realization dawned on Kate's face as a wide smile came to her face. "It's because of the pregnancy."  
"That's real genius work there. Maybe you should try a career change," Carl snapped, being a real smart-ass, looking to her again.  
Kate ignored him, the smile having yet to leave her face. While Kate would never admit it aloud, it was actually kinda nice having Carl at her place. It'd never been cleaner or more organized than it was now. And she'd noticed how his nausea was tapering off as the weeks passed.  
The first week, Kate had been ready to make due on her threat when she found some of her jewelry missing, only to find it was sitting in a bowl being cleaned in the bathroom as Carl ate in the kitchen. Since then, none of her other jewelry had been touched and nothing gone missing. His cooking was great, better than most she could do.  
Kate had also noticed in the last week that Carl's skin started to take on that glowing effect that pregnant women would get and he was eating more. It seemed every time she looked, he was eating or munching on something. Chips, nuts, pretzels, dried fruit, veggies, just to name a few. And when he wasn't, he was sleeping. In the car, at her apartment, even at his desk at the station. Which made it easier to keep an eye on the gnome. More sleeping at the station meant he wasn't doing anything he wasn't supposed to be.  
Other than that, all else seemed normal with him. She hadn't noticed any weight gain with him, but then it was hard to tell as he wore a size bigger than he was in shirts. It didn't help that winter was coming, too, so he was starting to wear more layers. Not that he really needed them; it was more of a front to blend in better.  
And everyone at the station knew about Carl's pregnancy. Had known by the end of that week the Leith had attacked.  
Pulling up to the curb, Kate had to coax the gnome awake, Carl had fallen asleep again in the short 30-minute drive to the station, before they made their way down below ground.  
"There you are. I was about to call," Nick said, walking up to Kate as she came in, not paying any attention to Carl as he walked off.  
"Yeah, sorry about that. Was running a little late, because of Carl."  
"Why are you still letting him stay with you? He's fine on his own now," Nick started again, sitting at his desk, still baffled she let him stay with her.  
"Because I am," Kate said sternly, sitting down herself, not wanting to start up this conversation again. "Why is that so hard for you to accept?"  
"Because he's a lying little back-stabbing thief that wouldn't hesitate to hand us over to save himself," Nick said seriously.  
"Well, I think you're wrong," Kate said, not believing all of what Nick said, having a feeling he really didn't, either, still acting as the hard-ass.  
"O'Malley! Benson!" Page called from his office.  
Quickly both of the agents made their way to the office. "Yes, Sir?" Nick asked once they stood in front of the desk.  
"Your next assignment," Page said as he handed each of them a folder. "Kankakee South KOA," he said sitting back down. "Last night, several of the campers left after reporting that several large 8-foot-tall creatures had come into their camps and did several thousand dollars worth of damage. The state park is writing the damage off as a fake claim, the campers trying for free money, because at the scene, evidence of a large bonfire and bottles of alcohol were found. It now falls under our jurisdiction."  
"Is this another Big Foot incident?" Nick asked, looking over his copy of the file. "I thought the three that were causing trouble last year agreed to stop once we threatened to lock them up and shave them bald?"  
"It's not them," Page said confidently.  
"He's right. Eye witness say the creatures were stocky, bald, and dressed in leather garbs," Kate read aloud as she looked from Nick to Page. "Are we talking about Giants here?"  
"That'd be correct," Page said, lighting a cigarette. "I want you two to get down there, with Carl, work something out with them. If that doesn't work, tell them we'll have no choice but to take them out."  
"Yes, Sir," Kate and Nick said together, then headed out.  
"Where's Carl?" Nick asked, for once not seeing the gnome asleep at his desk.  
"I'm here," Carl called, walking up from behind Nick as he placed something in his coat pocket, watching as Nick turned to face him.  
"We need your help."  
"What a shock."  
"With some giants."  
Carl gave a fake laugh. "Giants. Sure. No problem. Oh, wait, there is one. Giants and gnomes don't particularly get along very well."  
"You're coming whether you like it or not," Nick said firmly.  
"Why should I help you?"  
"Do this, and we'll overlook the next three misdemeanors," Nick said, placing both his hands on Carl's shoulders as he smirked.  
Carl was quiet as he thought on it; obviously, he was thinking. "Throw in a convenience store robbery, and we have a deal."  
"Deal."  
Kate chuckled silently as she shook her head, an amused grin on her face.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So any ideas what we can do to get the giants to stop?" Nick asked, looking to Carl through the rearview mirror of his car.  
"They love shiny objects," Carl said, looking back to the human.  
"I'm being serious, Carl."  
"So am I," Carl stated. "Why do you think most giants go after campers, or castles," Carl's voice got low, "back in the day."  
"So, what? You thinking a trade, a negotiation?"  
"Something along that line, yes," Carl said as he took a small piece of paper out from his pocket and looked at it.  
"What is that?" Kate asked over her shoulder.  
Carl looked to her before letting out a big sigh. "Since you're obviously going to find out, anyway: it's a sonogram picture," Carl said as he handed it to Kate, who actually looked excited about seeing it, a wide smile on her face as she gently took it.  
"Oh my God, this is your ... Look how small it is," she said, the wide smile still in place as she looked over the picture. "And look, you can see everything already. Head, legs, arms, even its little fingers."  
"How fantastic," Nick said in monotone, glancing once to the picture then back to the road, acting as if he couldn't care less.  
Carl ignored O'Malley's remark as he watched Kate fawn over the picture. "About this stage, the baby," Carl paused a moment, still trying to wrap his own head around it, "would be the size of a four-month-old human fetus. And it won't stay small for much longer."  
"You feeling anything yet?" Kate asked with a warm smile.  
"No. Nothing yet," Carl said, leaving out the part that while the sonogram was being preformed he saw how the little one kicked and moved about wildly. So it was just a matter of time before he did feel it.  
Nick kept quiet as he listened, a bored expression on his face.  
"So, exactly how is it that you, or for that matter, male gnomes are able to get pregnant?" Kate asked curiously as she handed the picture back to Carl.  
Carl was quiet as he looked over the picture.  
"I'm sorry," Kate apologized, her smile gone, thinking she'd gone a little to personal in the gnome's business.  
"Its fine," Carl said, not upset with Kate. "Truth is, we've always been able to. While there are female gnomes, there aren't that many to sustain us, so evolution took over. Gnomes like me can impregnate, and become pregnant, by our own means or wait for it to happen once our body reaches a certain point. Beyond our control by the way," Carl explained as he looked over the photo. "But that only happens once," he added, almost sounding relieved at this fact.  
"Glad I'm not a gnome."  
"You just can't help but be a hypocritical jack-ass, can you?" Carl said with a fake smile right at the back of Nick's head.  
"I like to think it's an endearing charm," Nick countered, ever being the wise-ass. "So, what's it like being a freak among freaks?"  
"Nick!" Kate admonished.  
Carl's expression changed in an instant, from unamused to angry, and he didn't hesitate as he smacked Nick over the back of his head.  
Already driving on forested roads and with no one behind them, Nick slammed on the brakes.  
Carl knew it was coming and was ready for it. As the human turned to hit him back, Carl nailed him hard in the face, or more his nose, using more of his real strength than instead of half, like he normally did in his play fighting.  
Not expecting the force of the hit, Nick was unprepared. He let out a painful groan, not even getting a hit on the gnome as he sat back down holding what he knew was a broken nose. "Damn it, Carl!" Nick said as he started to drive again.  
"Are you done being a smart-ass?" Kate said, not feeling sorry for Nick in the slightest.  
"For now," Nick said as he gently tended to his bleeding nose. "When the hell could you hit like that?"  
"I'm a gnome. We're diggers. Builders," Carl said, feeling a little better now. "In my younger years, I helped build underground cities."  
"Wait? So you're telling me all those times you hit me you were holding back?" Nick asked, shocked, looking to Kate, who only shrugged.  
Carl only smirked as he looked out the window.  
"Goes to show you, you never know," Kate said with a look right at Nick.  
Nick slowly shook his head.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pulling up to the deserted camp grounds, first thing all three of them noticed was how quiet it was as they got out of the car. Not even the birds were chirping.  
"They're here still," Carl said on alert as he looked around with big eyes.  
"Stay behind us," Nick said sternly, now in full officer mode, his gun out, as he too kept on high alert. Kate had done the same.  
"No problem," Carl said, making sure to stay close to the two armed humans.  
It was then that a rustling sound caught all their attentions, and there, standing among several thick trees, 16 feet away from the three, were four giants.  
Each ranging from 7-8 feet tall, each one bald, and each adorned in different levels of leather garb. They all had red eyes.  
For the longest time all was silent as the two groups stared at each other. It was broken as the one to the far left took a step towards the three.  
"Stay back!" Nick said with a clear warning as he aimed his SU2 gun right at the giant.  
"Hey, hey, hey! Now," Kate said, trying to keep peace as the giant took heed of Nick's warning and stopped, "let's not do anything rash here."  
"Yes, please," Carl agreed with a nervous chuckle.  
"What's he doing here?" the one in the middle said with a very gruff voice, looking to Carl with narrowed eyes.  
"Helping to find you," Nick said sternly as he lowered his gun a bit.  
"What do you want?" asked the same giant.  
"We got reports that some of you," Kate started, trying to keep her tone neutral as she watched each giant carefully, "trashed some camping grounds while people were there."  
"So?"  
"So we're here to tell you to stop," Nick said seriously.  
"We're here to try and make some sort of deal with you, without resorting to violence," Kate said quickly before things could turn nasty.  
During it all Carl remained quiet, staying behind the two humans. But being a gnome, he couldn't help but be curious as he started to look around the ground.  
The giant doing all the talking turned his attention from the humans, to the gnome.  
"I want the gold he has," he said sternly.  
Carl froze at hearing what the giant said, looking from the ground to him, looking like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.  
"What gold?" Nick asked with a frown, turning from the giant to the gnome.  
"The gold nuggets he has. We can smell them," another of the giants said, his voice a grasping growl.  
"Carl!" Nick drawled out the gnome's name in warning, a very agitated expression on his face now.  
"Gold nuggets? As in the grape-sized nuggets that were stolen and thought lost a month ago?" Kate stated more than asked, irate.  
Carl rolled his own eyes now, knowing he was caught and wasn't going to bother hiding it, as he stood straight. "I knew I should have left them back at the apartment," he mumbled, not ashamed.  
"Hand them over. Now!" Nick said seriously, holding out his hand for the nuggets.  
"No!"  
"Do it, or I'll leave your ass here, with the giants," Nick hissed.  
"You wouldn't dare," Carl challenged, his eyes narrowed.  
"Try me." Nick didn't budge.  
"Fine!" Carl said after a long moment of staring at the unwavering human. Putting his hand into his coat pocket, Carl withdrew four green grape-sized rough gold nuggets.  
"Now give them to the giant," Nick ordered.  
Now Carl really did show some concern as he looked at the giants back to Nick, fidgeting with the nuggets in his hand.  
"Carl..." Nick pushed.  
"Here. You give the damn things to them," Carl said as he placed the nuggets into the surprised human's hand and took a few steps back.  
"You're a coward," Nick said with a shake of his head.  
"A very handy survival skill."   
"No!" the first giant said sternly. "I want him"—looking right at Carl—"to hand them to us."  
At this point Carl looked downright scared, especially when he saw the malicious hint in the giant's eyes.   
"No," Nick said just as sternly. He'd also seen the look the giant had directed at the gnome. And while he'd never admit it aloud, he'd be damned if he'd let this tall bastard hurt the gnome out of some sick pleasure.  
Cautiously he made his way up to the giant, watching him with a keen eye in case he had to act quickly in self-defense.  
While the giant wasn't happy, he knew this was the only way he was going to get that gold. How he wished it'd been the gnome. He'd have happily broken its wrist, its hand, its fingers, just because he knew he could. Oh, how he hated gnomes, thinking themselves so much more superior, and this one was no exception. When the human was within reach of him, he held out his hand low.  
He smirked as the human quickly placed the nuggets in his hand, then backed off.  
"So we have a deal," Nick said sternly.  
Without saying a word, the giant stood up fully, turned, and headed off, with the others following.  
"I guess we're done here," Nick said after a moment with a shrug and a smirk.  
Kate also shrugged a shoulder as she looked back to Carl, who'd found a egg-sized rough rock and was breaking it in half like it was a thin stick. The rock turned out to be a geode.  
"What?" he asked at her shocked but frustrated expression as she looked from him to Nick.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Seems the trade worked," Kate said as she sat at her desk. It'd been three days since then, and everything was staying quiet at the camping grounds.  
"Seems that way," Nick said, bored, as he put a file away into a shelf.  
It was then that Kate's pager went off for the third time in 20 minutes. Checking it, she sighed as she shook her head. "Should have never given him my pager number."  
Nick shook his head, rolling his eyes.  
Page hadn't been pleased with Carl after learning the gnome held out on how little, or how much, he had from the bank heist. Carl'd been in the hole ever since next to his buddies.  
"Now what?" Nick asked, annoyed, knowing exactly who it was paging.  
"He's hungry again," Kate said, standing up.  
"Again? He just ate."  
"Yeah, like two hours ago."  
"So? I can go for six without eating if I have to."  
"Yeah, but you're not pregnant either," Kate pointed out, then left heading for the stairs. Getting to the hole, Kate ignored all the whistles and hooting from the links in the other cells as she walked to Carl's cell.  
"About time you got down here," he complained with narrowed eyes.  
"Be happy I come at all, Carl."  
Carl, however, wasn't really paying attention to her snarky remark as he withdrew a twenty-dollar bill from a wad of cash he took from his pants pocket. "Walk across the street to the Thai place and pick me up an order of fried cheese wantons and the largest size of vegetable noodles they have. Extra broccoli and baby corn," he said with a wide smile as Kate snatched the money from his hand with a small frown. "And tell them it's me. They know I can't eat meat, so they make it in a separate pan," he said seriously.  
"Fine. But I'm keeping the change."  
"What? Why?!" Carl said, his smile gone.  
"Delivery charge," Kate said with her own wide smile now as she walked off, missing the angry look from the gnome as he ground his teeth agitatedly.  
Walking back up stairs, she stopped at her desk, putting on her jacket. "Going for Thai. You want anything?"  
"Yeah," Nick said as he dug into his pants pocket. "Pick me up a beef with pepper, fried rice, egg rolls, and sugar buns," he said, counting his money and handing her two twenties.  
"And you complain about Carl?" she said with a pointed look, taking the money and heading out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The peace didn't last long. Later that evening, SU2 got word that the giants weren't holding up their end of the deal. Not only had they trashed another camp, but this time a horse been killed and people hurt.  
"We shouldn't have tried negotiating with them, we should have shot them!" Nick vented as he drove his car once more on forested roads. Behind them was a SU2 van with extra backup.  
"For once I agree with you," Kate said, dead serious. "From the moment I laid eyes on them, something felt off." Kate looked from out the window to Nick. "And that look the giant gave Carl. I swear he wanted to hurt him," Kate said, sickened by that.  
"You're not the only one," Nick said low, seriously, also a little sickened by it. "Why do you think I wouldn't let Carl hand him the gold?"  
"I can't believe you actually admitted that," Kate said, shocked.  
"Yeah, but I'd deny it in court," he said with a smirk.  
"Of course." Kate smiled to herself. She had long since suspected that Nick's hatred for the little guy was habit rather than heartfelt, and that he and Carl were secretly enjoying their fights. When push came to shove, they were there to protect each other. Of course, Nick would rather die a gruesome death than admit any of that out loud, and it was no small wonder that he had let on as much as he had to Kate.  
Pulling up to the last known area the giants were, all members of SU2 were on high alert, weapons out and ready for a possible fight.  
Going to his trunk, Nick was surprised to see Carl lying there asleep, woken by the sudden bright light.  
"Carl?!" Nick almost shouted, an annoyed and shocked look on his face.  
"Wait? What?" Carl asked, jumping up but still half out of it, looking slowly up to Nick. He let out a low tired moan.  
"What the hell are you doing in my trunk?! Who let you out?!"  
"Captain Page did," Carl said with a yawn, rubbing at his eyes as Kate walked over to Nick. "Turned out Ben and Will had more of the loot than we first realized. Got them to hand it over to the Captain, and he let me go," Carl explained as he got out of the trunk, more awake now. "What are we doing here?" he asked finally, looking at their surroundings.  
"Dealing with the giants. Again," Nick said, annoyed, getting the extra ammo he wanted, and closed the trunk. "And since you're here, you can help us."  
"Hell no!" Carl said as he walked over to the back door. "I'm waiting in the car."  
"Do you really want to be in there when we flush out the giants? Trapped? With no possible means of escape?" Kate said with a smirk on her face.  
"On second thought," Carl said, rubbing at his goatee, thinking it over and not liking that scenario, "I think I'll stay with you two."  
"Thought so." Kate activated her gun.  
"Stay between us," Nick ordered, leading the way.  
Around them were several other SU2 agents, but they were dressed in the special SU2 swat gear.  
Each agent was on high alert, scattered across the area, a 15-foot gap between each agent.The only ones close to each other were O'Malley, Benson, and Carl. Each by 5 to 7 feet.  
Suddenly Carl stopped, like a deer in headlights, as he looked around to his front, left, and right, eyes wide. Around them the birds stopped chirping, the squirrels stopped chattering.  
Then things turned nasty fast. One of the original four giants from a few days prior attacked quickly. His target was one of the geared SU2 agents to their right, who screamed in agony as the giant came out of what seemed like nowhere, hitting him squarely in the chest and causing him to fly backwards.  
Nick acted fast, turning, taking aim, and firing several shots that brought the giant down.  
That's how he saw the giant that came up fast behind Kate. "Kate, behind you!" he warned, but Kate had already heard it coming in for the attack as she turned, took aim, and fired several shots almost point-blank at it. Like the first giant, it went down quickly.  
Between the two humans, but closer to Nick, Carl hid behind a boulder, trying to stay out of the line of fire. It was clear he was scared from the attack.  
Unfortunately that left an opening for the third giant to attack. His target: Nick. And he came up fast from behind, knocking the human down.  
Hitting the ground hard, Nick was momentarily stunned, a bleeding gash now on his forehead, the skin having made contact with a smaller rock.  
The hidden gnome had seen Nick go down to the left of him.  
As the giant they had given the gold to raised his hand for the killing smash as he kneeled over the body, he looked up to see the blonde-haired gnome. But it lasted less than a second as he was blinded by whatever it was that the gnome had thrown right at his face.  
The giant shouted in anger and pain before being taken down by several shots from Kate's gun.  
"Nick!" she shouted, terrified and concerned for the man, quickly making her way over to him as Nick slowly sat up with a groan.  
"Careful," she said, kneeling down to look the wound over. "Don't move just yet. That's a pretty nasty gash you got there."  
Her caring concern was obvious as she took the offered cloth from Carl and pressed it to the bleeding gash, cradling Nick's head against her body as she did so. Nick closed his eyes for a moment and Kate could have sworn he was secretly enjoying the attention. For a split second she was torn between giving him a slap over the head and running her fingers through is thick hair and telling him it would be okay.  
Carl had moved slightly out of the way as Kate had come running over. He was silent as he watched, not envious—though, as he saw how Kate fawned over Nick, okay, maybe slightly—but the look he held was more of one humbled. He didn't regret what he'd done in saving the human's life.  
"Thanks," Carl heard Nick say as he looked up at Kate. Closing his eyes, Carl shook his head as he turned to walk off.  
"Don't thank me. Thank Carl," Kate said softly, more grateful than she could ever express for what the gnome had done. "He's the one that saved you from being smashed."  
"Carl?" Nick asked, shocked as he stared at the gnome. "How?"  
It was then Carl withdrew different sized pieces, most of it dust, of the geode he'd found the other day, giving a small shrug as he looked to Nick, almost embarrassed.  
Nick was still shocked as he stared at the gnome.  
Carl then shook his head as he wiped the geode dust from his hands. "Are we done here?" he asked, trying to act annoyed, impatient, as he turned to walk off.  
But Kate could see right through the tough act. She smiled warmly as she helped Nick to his feet.  
Nick, though, came out of his shocked stupor as they began walking.  
"I call dibs on driving!" Carl shouted as they made their way back to the car.  
"Like hell you are. You should be thankful we're even letting you ride back with us," Nick said, back to normal, pushing the gnome slightly as they stopped in front of the car. Before it could escalate, Kate took Nick's keys from him. With a smirk Carl walked to the back seat and sat in the middle as Kate sat in the driver's seat and Nick rode shotgun.   
"Glad to see that knock to the head didn't change your snarky attitude. Cause that would be a shame," Carl said with his own sarcasm.  
Nick only smirked as Kate started the car and they headed back to Chicago. He leaned back in the passenger seat and closed his eyes, exhausted from the fight. A few minutes later, both he and the gnome were fast asleep.  
Kate snuck a glance at her accidental flatmate in the rearview mirror and then one to the side at her partner. She smiled to herself, relieved they were both with her, safe.


	3. Common Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nice quiet time, with more character interaction and bonding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you so much, PearlQ19 for all the help you've given me! Kudos!

"How much longer do I have to stay in this piece of junk?" Carl asked deadpan, tired and in a bad mood.  
"Hmm, someone's cranky."  
"You would be to if you had a hard time sleeping," Carl snapped, looking up at Kate.  
"Baby keeping you up again."  
"Every time I go to lie down it won't stop moving," he said, his tone back to even but still annoyed.  
Nick kept quiet as he listened from the other side of Kate, not really knowing what to say as he watched the monitors in the special SU2 van.  
"Have you tried music?"  
"Tried it."  
"Sleeping sitting up?"  
"Tried it."  
"Herbal tea?"  
"Tried it."  
"Sounds to me like you're screwed. And not in the good way," Nick said with a shit-eating smirk.  
"Thank you for that wonderful insight," Carl said, still deadpan, looking right at Nick from his own seat.  
"I'm just trying to help." Nick smirked.  
"And failing," Carl stated. He then let out a low gasp, a hand going to the side, close to Kate, of his slightly extended stomach.  
Kate watched, curious, her eyes light with a warm glow. Deep down Kate always wanted to have kids and that was one reason she was helping Carl in dealing with his pregnancy.  
"Could I?" Kate asked slowly, unsure how Carl would take her request.  
Still scratching at the area the baby kicked, Carl opened his eyes looking to Kate. After a moment's debate, Carl rolled his eyes at her hopeful expression and nodded his head. "Yeah, go ahead."  
Carefully, Kate reached out her hand and laid it against Carl's stomach where his hand had been. She waited, and after a few seconds was rewarded as beneath the clothes she could feel the squirming motion under the skin.  
"Oh my God. I felt that," Kate said low in awe, glee, and excitement, pressing just a little firmer and a little searching of the area, feeling the distinct curve of the baby bump, wanting to get a better feel of the baby's movement. She wasn't disappointed as the baby gave a firm kick against the palm of her hand.  
"Okay, okay," Carl said a little uncomfortable as he shifted away from Kate's hand, a frown on his face, "enough." He slightly swiped at Kate's hand. "You're getting him more riled up."  
"He?" Kate asked, the smile still in place, not fazed by Carl's swatting hand.  
"Yes, he. Found out through the last ultrasound it's a boy."  
"Pictures?" Kate asked, her wide smile still in place.  
"Yes. But not with me. They're in my desk drawer," Carl explained, rolling his eyes and slowly shaking his head at Kate's exuberance.  
"While this is all so heart-warming, can we get back to the task at hand, please?" Nick asked, seeming annoyed.  
"Fine," Carl answered, still annoyed.  
"Fine." Kate sounded a little disappointed.  
"So when is he going to walk past?" Nick asked as he chewed on a piece of jerky.  
"Soon," Carl said, dead pan, holding his head up with his hand against the arm rest as he sat back in the seat, looking tiredly at the monitor screen. Sitting back like he was, the distinctive curve of his baby bump could be seen through his loose shirt. The camera was pointed at the entrance to a wine and spirits store, giving a 20-foot radius of the area around the door.  
"And you're sure he'll be at this one?" This time Kate asked.  
"Can't you just trust me?"  
"Do we have to bother answering that?" Nick said, being a wise-ass.  
"Oh, is that him?" Kate interrupted.  
On the screen there was a short man, no more than 5 foot 2 inches, in loose-fitting sweat pants and a hoodie, also wearing a hat with the hood over it, walking into the wine store.  
"No," Carl said, re-closing his eyes.  
"You falling asleep?"  
"Maybe." Carl's tone was low, dead pan and still tired.  
"You fall asleep on us and I'll run this jerky under your nose," Nick said with a low hiss.  
"Relax, O'Malley," Carl said, looking right at the cranky human. "I'm only resting my eyes."  
"Oh here comes someone else," Kate said, drawing the two's attention back to the monitors. This was another man, dressed in jeans, a winter coat, and a beanie.  
"Not him," Carl said, laying his head back but lazily keeping his eyes on the monitor.  
A few minutes later another person came into the camera's range. Another man, this one dressed in jeans, a gray t-shirt, winter jacket, a beanie, and boots. But it was clear on his face this man had a thick but well-kept goatee.  
"Is that him?" Kate asked.  
"Yup."  
"You sure?"  
"Positive."  
"It's go time," Nick said as he stood and headed out the van.  
"Stay in the van," Kate said to Carl as she followed behind Nick.  
But Carl didn't answer as he was already nodding off. Clearly he had no complaints about being left in the van.  
Making their way quickly into the store, they watched from a distance as the marked suspect would pick up the smaller bottles of wine and place them in his thick jacket, then walk off.  
Kate and Nick acted fast as they came running up behind him. "Special Unit 2! Freeze!" Nick shouted.  
But the suspect didn't take heed to the warning. Knowing he'd been caught, the suspect took off, easily leaping over the chest-height rows of wine and liquor making his way for the exit.  
Nick and Kate took off after him, but they already had the slight advantage being already closer to the exit. Getting to the checkout area, Nick slammed into their suspect, knocking him off balance and over.  
"Now where do you think you're going?" Nick hissed as he pinned the struggling subject, fighting to get his hands behind him. Thankfully that happened with Kate's help and they managed to cuff him.  
Lifting him up roughly, they headed outside, not paying attention to the scared and startled people around them.  
"Your drinking days are over, satyr," Nick stated as he pushed the half-man-half-goat creature into the back of the van, taking off its beanie to reveal tiny stubs of horns and long, pointed ears.  
Carl was woken by the commotion, sitting up straight in the seat. He watched as Nick joined them in the back, to keep the satyr under control, while Kate closed the double doors. She was driving.  
Back at the station, other members of SU2 took care of the satyr as Nick went back to his desk. But Kate, eager to see the newest pictures, followed Carl to his desk.  
Carl didn't realize this till he sat down. "Can I help you with something?" he said sarcastically.  
"I want to see them," Kate said, just coming out with it. "You said I could when we got back." She smiled.  
"No, I didn't."  
"I want to see them, Carl." It was obvious Kate wasn't going to back down.  
Rolling his eyes with a sigh, Carl opened a desk drawer and took out a small envelope, handing it to her as she sat down on the edge of his desk. "You're relentless, you know that?"  
"Yeah, I know," Kate said, the wide smile still in place as she carefully took the envelope and opened it. Inside were several ultrasound pictures, but not from a regular ultrasound: these ones where from a 3D ultrasound. The baby had grown much bigger since the last ultrasound. It was more looking like a baby, and things were very distinguishable in the 3D version; eyes, nose, mouth, finger nails, and the elongated ears. And if Kate admitted it, he did kinda look like Carl, but not quite.  
"Oh, look at the ears," Kate cooed with a goofy smile as she looked at the next picture, as this time the baby was holding his foot, sucking on his toes. "These are adorable."  
"Okay, enough," Carl said, getting a little embarrassed as he took the pictures back, looking around as his face got a bit red. "What is it with you anyway?" Carl asked with a weirded-out frown putting the pictures back in the envelope. "You've been acting weird since you found out I was pregnant." Carl placed the envelope back into the drawer. "You're even still letting me stay at your place. Not that I'm complaining about that," he added quickly, true gratitude in his tone for her letting him stay with her still.  
"I don't know," Kate said as she thought on the question but already knew the answer. "I guess ..." she stalled, shaking her head slowly. "I know this might sound silly, but since I was a little girl I've always wanted to be a mother. Doing this job, just finding a guy alone is almost impossible, let alone marriage or even a baby. Helping you is as close as I'm going to get to it right now."  
"Wait – so you're only helping me because of the baby?" Carl asked, shocked, but it then turned into a grin. "Hell, I like this." He chuckled even with her pointed look.  
"Yeah, well, don't push it," Kate said, crossing her arms over her chest.  
"What? Me?" Carl said all innocent as he placed a hand on his chest. "Never."  
Kate shook her head with a smirk.  
"Buuuut," Carl started, watching as Kate looked right back down at him, "if anything should happen in the foreseeable future, I hope you'll remember this conversation we had."  
"How many times are you going to rob that convenience store?" Kate asked with a small chuckle, already knowing where this was going.  
"Who said anything about robbing?" Carl asked with fake confusion.  
"Carl!"  
"I don't know," Carl finally admitted, not ashamed as he leaned on his desk, playing with his goatee. "Can't seem to satisfy the slurpy and bun bun cravings," he said with a shrug.  
"They do have really good slurpys and bun buns," Kate admitted herself.  
"Yes, they do," Carl said with a smile. "Plus, I need the cash."  
"Really, Carl?" Now Kate got serious.  
"Hey, need to start buying baby stuff," Carl stated, shaking his head slowly. "My God, is it expensive."  
"Yeah," Kate agreed with a sympathetic look. "I know of a nice second-hand store that has baby stuff. Clothes, shoes, accessories, diapers," Kate said trying to help, watching as the gnome had a skeptical look. "Some of it is new, with tags."  
That caught Carl's interest. "New?"  
Kate nodded with a closed smile.  
"Hmmm," Carl said, really thinking on it as he rubbed his stomach slowly, but affectionately.  
"Oh, you ARE paying for the vegan part of the groceries this time," Kate said sternly.  
"What? Why?" Carl asked with a frown. "You eat that stuff to."  
"Yeah, but not like you do. The tofu, fruits, veggies, trail mixes, just to name a few." It was obvious Kate wasn't backing down.  
"Fine," Carl said with a sigh, as he headed out.  
"Where you going?"  
"Out!" Carl stated, still walking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later, Kate and Nick learned that Carl had indeed robbed his favorite convenience store.  
"How'd I know that's where he was going," Kate said with a small smile and shake of her head as she filled out some paperwork.  
"Well, he's got one more. Then we get to throw his ass back in the hole," Nick said with a smirk.  
Kate shrugged her shoulders as she looked at the time. Standing, she put on her thick coat and took her purse from the drawer.  
"I'm gonna head out. I'll see you tomorrow."  
"Night, Kate."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Driving down the road through a small area of town houses, Kate pulled her car to the curb.  
She didn't have long to wait as the passenger side door opened and Carl got in.  
"Bun bun?" Carl asked with a wise-ass smirk, holding up an unopened pack.  
Shaking her head with her own small smile, Kate pulled the car back into the main road.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm going out." Carl said, finishing up with the last of the dishes, putting it away. Walking to the door, he put on his thick jacket.  
"Where are you going this time of night?" Kate asked, sitting on the couch and turning on the TV.  
"Out!" Carl said again sternly, not giving any more details.  
"You got the key?"  
"Yup," Carl said with a smile, showing her his set as he headed out the door.  
Managing to grab a cab, Carl had the driver pull over once back in the city. His destination: the Skintastic Gentlemen's club.  
Put simple, Carl was horny. And the hormones weren't helping. Paying the cab driver, Carl headed inside.  
Music blared, lights of different colors flashed, and the girls were dancing on the stage. Some spinning on the poles, others dancing exotically in front of the men who offered money.  
"Hey, cutie," one of the girls said as she playful messed with his goatee-like beard.  
"Hey, baby," Carl said sweetly. "Care to give daddy here a lap dance?"  
"Sure," the girl said, licking her upper teeth with her tongue and continued to play with his goatee. "But let me hand something in first. Be right back." She winked as she walked off.  
Carl was very happy as he waited at the bar for the dancer to come back. Looking around the crowd, his smile vanished as he saw Nick a ways down the bar, in his hand a beer. "What is he doing here?" Carl said aloud to himself.  
Now Carl didn't know what possessed him to walk up to the human. Maybe it was the hormones, maybe it was something else, but before he realized it, he was standing right behind Nick and poked him in the back.  
Feeling the poke, Nick turned in his chair to stare at the gnome with a frown. But before Nick could say anything, Carl beat him to it.  
"What are you doing here?"  
"I could be asking you the same. I'm surprised they let you in here," Nick said, trying to get a rouse out of the gnome.  
"I'm here because, like you, I have needs, but unlike you, I don't have anyone," Carl said sternly, serious.  
That caught Nick off guard. "What are you talking about?"  
"Do I have to spell out everything for you? I'm talking about Kate," Carl said just as serious.  
"Kate's my partner," Nick said back just as sternly.  
"And you're a dumbass for not seeing how much she actually cares about you. As more than a partner." Carl obviously wasn't backing down.  
Nick didn't know what to say to that. Yes, it was true, he knew how much Kate cared about him, but as more than a good friend?  
"You don't know what you're talking about," Nick finally said. Then he was shocked by the sudden slap Carl gave him across the cheek.  
"The hell, Carl?!" Nick moaned in astonishment, rubbing at his now sore cheek.  
"I was hoping to slap some sense into you."  
"Just wait till you have that kid," Nick warned, rubbing at his cheek still.  
"I'm shaking in my shoes," Carl said sarcastically with a bored expression. "Now are you going to take my advice and go see someone who really cares about you or not?"  
"We're done here," Nick said with a hiss as he stood, pushing Carl roughly to the side, and made his way out of the night club.  
Carl only shook his head as he watched the human leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Opening the door, a wide smile came to Kate's face as she looked right at Nick.  
"Nick!" she said surprised. "Hi!"  
"Mind if you have some company?" he asked with a smile.  
"No! No. Come in." Kate moved aside to let him in. Before Carl had even left, Kate had changed into her pajamas: a gray sweatshirt and black yoga pants.  
"Is Carl here?" Nick asked, though he already knew the answer.  
"Oh, uh, no." Kate said, closing the door. "He went out somewhere. Wouldn't tell me where."  
"Maybe we'll get lucky and we'll throw his ass in the hole tonight," Nick said with a smirk.  
Kate ignored him as she got them something to drink.  
"So, uh, what do you want to do?" Kate asked, handing Nick a beer.  
Nick shrugged as he took the offered can. "Popcorn and a movie sounds good."  
"Okay then." Kate said with a smile, feeling good about this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quiet as a mouse, Carl unlocked the door and made his way inside the apartment. He was careful to close the door just as quietly after seeing the sight on the living room couch, the light from the TV highlighting the two slumped figures on the couch. It was not hard to piece together what had gone down: Nick had dropped in unannounced, Kate had scoured the fridge for the last of the beer, popped in a movie, and then at some point they had both fallen asleep. They looked comfortable together, Carl mused. Maybe they'd been talking for a while. Kate was curled into Nick's side with her legs drawn up under her, and Nick's arm was around her shoulders.  
With a grin on his face, Carl walked over to them, seeing that the two were indeed fast asleep. Apparently Nick had taken his advice, despite his brush attitude at the club. Changes were on the horizon and not just for Carl, if the gnome had any say in it. Grin still in place, Carl left the two be as he headed to his room for what remained of the night.


End file.
